FOOD - BRAINS BEHIND THE BRANDS | S T R A V A G A N Z A FOOD - BRAINS BEHIND THE BRANDS Do you know the stories behind the names on your food? Read on to get a who’s who of some of the biggest brands, from the religiously inspired corn flakes to the revolutionary fish finger. 1. JOHN CADBURY (British 1802- 89) Born to a Quaker father, John Cadbury’s career options were seriously limited. Forbidden from university, he was unable to study medicine or law, and his pacifist roots meant he couldn’t consider a military position. In 1831, Cadbury began producing cocoa and drinking chocolate, later partnering up with his brother, Benjamin. They soon moved to London and received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria as manufacturers of chocolate, though the company’s profits began to decline. When John’s sons, Richard and George, took over, however, profits increased, and by 1905, the Dairy Milk had been launched. 2.

CLARENCE BIRDSEYE (American 1886- 1956) The father of modern freezing techniques, Clarence Birdseye founded the Birds Eye frozen food giant, as well as discovering the technique itself. Birdseye began his career as a naturalist for the US government, and in 1912 he took on an assignment in the Arctic. Here, he saw how fishing in -40 degrees Celsius meant that fish froze almost as soon as the air hit it, yet tasted fresh when thawed. Birdseye saw a market for flashfrozen food in America, and experimented with techniques to achieve fresh frozen food in warmer climates. In 1925, he patented his new invention, and frozen food went on to revolutionise modern eating habits. 3. LAURA SCUDDER (American 1881- 1959) Crisps weren’t new when Laura Scudder hit the scene, but this Philadelphia-born businesswoman is credited with pioneering the modern crisp packet using sheets of wax paper ironed together. As a female entrepreneur during the Great Depression, Scudder faced plenty of obstacles, not least sexism and financial strife.

It’s said that once she attempted to get a delivery vehicle insured, and all but one insurance agent refused to cover her, claiming that a woman would be too unreliable. Scudder had a compassionate side too – she turned down a $9 million offer for her company as the buyer wouldn’t guarantee her employees’ positions, later selling it for $6 million to ensure job security for her staff. 4. JOSEPH ROWNTREE (British 1836 -1925) Perhaps most renowned for championing social reform, Joseph Rowntree is also one of two brothers behind popular confectionary brand Rowntree’s. Henry Rowntree began creating chocolates in 1862, and in 1869 Joseph joined him. Upon Henry’s death in 1883, Joseph took over the company, taking it from profit to profit. Revolutionary at the time, he was one of the first employers to introduce a workplace pension scheme as his workforce grew to over 4,000 by the turn of the century.

As his wealth grew, however, Rowntree became more and more uncomfortable with it, and in 1901 he founded the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to help those in need. 5. HENRY HEINZ (American 1844-1919) As the adverts claim, beans means Heinz, but in actuality one of the first products made by Heinz’s brand – the F & J Heinz company, founded in 1876 – was tomato ketchup, with baked beans marketed more than 20 years later in 1901. Named after the other two founders, Heinz’s cousin Frederick and brother John, Henry later bought them out and renamed the brand. Until his death, Heinz remained the company’s president, providing his employees with free medical care, education opportunities and access to gardens and swimming pools. 6. HENRI NESTLÉ (German 1814-90) Originally born Heinrich Nestle in 1814 in Germany, between 1834 and 1839 he moved to Switzerland, where he legally changed his name to Henri Nestlé to ease into his new Frenchspeaking hometown.

Working with rapeseed, Nestlé initially manufactured oils and alcohol, but his infant formula was to shape the future of his company. Having created a powdered milk, it proved ideal for newborn children who were allergic to breast milk and significantly improved their health. By 1870, the formula had made its way to the USA. 7. ROBERT McVITIE (Scottish 1809-80) Scottish baker Robert McVitie was born in 1809, and even as a child his passion for cooking was evident. In 1830, he opened a shop with his father, William, but Robert’s baking proved so popular that the business had to expand, with plenty more shops opened up across Scotland. McVitie died in 1880, but his sons too had learned the trade, and Robert Junior took over the ever-expanding company. By 1888, McVitie’s was so in demand that a factory in the suburbs of Edinburgh was set up. In 1892, Alexander Grant joined McVitie’s, bringing with him his secret recipe for the digestive biscuit. 8.

THOMAS TWINING (British 1675-1741) Born to a family of weavers and fullers in 1675, Thomas Twining eschewed the family trade for a more lucrative position as a tea merchant while it was still in its early days. Learning the trade from Thomas D’Aeth, Twining’s knowledge soon surpassed his master, and in 1706 Twining went solo with Tom’s Coffee House. Specialising in tea – but also serving coffee – Twining’s tea expertise singled him out in such a competitive industry. By 1706, some of Twining’s tea sold for the modern equivalent of £160 per 100 grams. 9. GRANNY SMITH (British/Australian 1799-1870) She may not have founded her own company, but Marie Ann Smith – more commonly known by ‘Granny Smith’ due to her large family – discovered the tart, green apple and cultivated an orchard full of the fruit until her death. Tragically, she never managed to market her find, as she died only two years after her discovery.

Fellow planter Edward Gallard, however, was more than happy to share her secret, exhibiting her fruit as ‘Smith’s Seedling’. 10. JOHN HARVEY KELLOGG (American 1852-1943) The story behind Kellogg’s is a fascinating one, and it begins with two ultra-religious brothers: John Harvey and Will Keith. A member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, John was an ardent believer in vegetarianism and abstinence. Together the brothers founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health spa for various conditions, one of which included sexual desire. John experimented with cooking, soon discovering how to flake grains. He believed that these corn flakes would cleanse the body and repress sexual drives, but Will had other ideas. Frustrated with his feverous brother who refused to add sugar, Will bought the rights to make corn flakes in 1906 and it soon became a commercial success. In "All About History" UK issue 35, 2016, excerpts pp 22-23. Adapted and illustrated do be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

Posted 21st March 2016 by Leopoldo Costa Birdseye Frozen Foods | Article about Birdseye Frozen Foods by The Free Dictionary Birdseye Frozen Foods | Article about Birdseye Frozen Foods by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Financial , Wikipedia . Clarence Frank Birdseye II Brooklyn, New York City, US Died Frozen food Birdseye, Clarence, 1886–1956, American inventor and founder of the frozen food industry, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., studied at Amherst College. From 1910 he worked as a naturalist, and in 1912 he went to Labrador on a fur-trading expedition. After he returned to the United States in 1916, he began experimenting with freezing foods, aiming at commercial application. He developed a method for freezing fish and in 1924 he was one of the founders of the General Seafood Company, which began manufacturing various fast-frozen food products. In 1929 the company was bought by the Postum Company (later the General Foods Corp.) for $22 million.

By 1949, Birdseye had perfected the anhydrous freezing process, reducing the time needed for the operation from 18 hr to 1 1-2 hr. A prolific inventor, he held more than 200 patents. Bibliography See biography by M. Kurlansky (2012). Birdseye, Clarence (“Bob”) (1886–1956) inventor, food processor; born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was interested in taxidermy as a child, and he took a cooking course in high school. After briefly attending Amherst College, he worked as a field naturalist for the Biological Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1910–12) before going to Labrador where he engaged in the fur trade (1912–17). Observing how well the natives preserved fish and other foods by freezing them, he experimented with the quick-freezing of foods in the harsh winters there.

Back in Gloucester, Mass., he perfected his quick-freezing and packaging process in the 1920s, but it would be the 1940s before the name Birds Eye became a household word through the frozen food firm that he established (in 1927), the General Foods Company. Who invented frozen food? Everyday Mysteries:Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress) Several individuals, but most credit Clarence Birdseye. Of course, frozen food has always existed in climates that were cold enough for the food to freeze. Many people developed innovative food-freezing techniques, including Enoch Piper, William Davis, and Daniel E. Somes. However, Clarence Birdseye is credited with inventing in 1924 the quick freezing method, which produces the type of frozen foods that we know today. While working as a fur trader in Labrador, NF, Canada, Birdseye discovered that the fish that he and the local Inuit caught froze almost immediately after being pulled from the water. He was delighted to discover that the fish was just as delicious when thawed out months later. From this experience, he theorized that food must be frozen very quickly in order for it to retain its taste and texture.

Birdseye was right. Before quick-freezing came along, foods were frozen at a fairly slow rate. This caused large ice crystals to form, which ruptured the cell membranes of the food. When the food was defrosted, the ice crystals melted and water would leak out, taking with it the foods flavor and texture. Birdseye developed two methods for quick freezing foods, both of which employed the innovation of packaging the food beforehand.In the first technique, the package was held between two metal belts that were chilled to -40°F to -45°F using a calcium chloride solution. In the second and more popular technique, the packaged food was held under pressure between two hollow metal plates that were chilled to -25°F by the evaporation of ammonia. Using this method, a two-inch-thick package of meat could be frozen to 0F in about 90 minutes, while fruits and vegetables took about 30 minutes. Birdseyes quick-freezing process actually ended up creating 168 patents! These covered not only the freezing technique but also the packaging, type of paper used, and related innovations. Fun Fact: March is National Frozen Food Month!

Related Web Sites Clarence Birdseye, the Man Behind Modern Frozen Food - Jesse Rhodes interviews author Mark Kurlansky about Clarence Birdseye and frozen food in the Smithsonian Magazine blog, May 16, 2012. NFRA | Article History of Frozen Foods is Long and Varied Date: May 14, 2009 The easy and convenient home meal solutions provided by frozen food products today make our hectic life-styles seem a bit easier. Convenient, easy-to-prepare, nutritious and delicious frozen foods seem as if they were recently invented—specially-designed for modern life. In fact, frozen foods have been around a lot longer than you think, successfully evolving and adapting to the needs of consumers. Freezing Foods Has Long History The modern frozen food industry was born over 70 years ago, in 1930, but freezing foods as a means of preservation is a practice that has long historical roots. The first to harness the power of freezing foods beyond the winter months were the Chinese, who used ice cellars as early as 1000 B.C.

The Greeks and Romans stored compressed snow in insulated cellars, and the Egyptians and Indians discovered that rapid evaporation through the porous walls of clay vessels produced ice crystals in the water inside the vessels. But it was Clarence Birdseye and his American company that finally made frozen foods a practical reality in 1930. Legend has it that Birdseye’s interest in freezing food began in 1912, when, as a young engineer in Labrador, he often froze his catch after a day of fishing to keep it fresh. But it wasn’t until 1928 that Birdseye was successful in creating the double belt freezer, the forerunner of modern freezing technology, and not until 1930 that he finally introduced a line of frozen foods to the public. Contrary to popular belief, the line was not strictly vegetables, but included 18 cuts of meat, spinach, peas, fruits and berries, fish fillets and Blue Point oysters. But the road to consumer acceptance of these products was a long and rocky one. The first obstacle was the retailers themselves, who were unwilling to spend the money to buy refrigerated display cases to merchandise the new products.

Consumer resistance was also high, so the industry found its early savior in the institutional market. By the latter part of the 1930s, railroads and steamship lines became dumping grounds for surplus retail inventories and low or off-grade frozen products, because the frozen products were prepared before being served to diners, and customers didn’t know the food was frozen. The War to Save Frozens Frozen foods might have died off altogether if not for the onset of World War II. When Japan overran southeast Asia, it captured a large portion of the world’s tin resources and the U.S. government placed stringent controls on canners in an effort to conserve this vital wartime metal. This opened the door for frozens, which used less crucial materials such as paperboard, waxed paper and cellophane. Furthermore, retail shelves emptied as canned goods went to war, so major grocery chains eagerly pressed frozens into service to fill the gaps. Additionally, since frozens did not use metal, their purchase by consumers required fewer ration points than canned products. The 1940s were host to another milestone in the growth of the frozen food industry: the introduction of frozen concentrated orange juice.

This product really marked the first volume item for the frozen food industry, but was soon followed by another: frozen breaded seafood. The TV Age The 1950s were significant for the frozen food industry because it marked the introduction of a product that grew to be synonymous with the term frozen food: the TV Dinner. For the first time, a complete meal was available in frozen form to families who wished to dine quickly and easily at the table or in front of the TV, as the name implied. These dinners included an entree/meat item, a starch and a vegetable, and sometimes a dessert. Americans were introduced to another favorite frozen food in the early 50s—the fish stick, and more companies scrambled to win a piece of the suddenly growing frozen food market. Because of this heightened competition, the 1950s remain as one of the most innovative periods in the history of frozen foods, and manufacturers all scrambled to bring new products to consumers first. Among the other innovative foods introduced in frozen form during this decade were frozen pies and frozen side dishes. The Lean Years The 1960s were lean years for the frozen food industry, but not in the traditional sense.

The 1960s were characterized by a new “diet” craze in America, and from this craze such products as Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers were born. The industry continued to experience growth until the early 70s, when the country was gripped by one of the worst recessions in history, and an inflationary spiral that led the government to institute severe price controls. Creative marketing and a strong determination attitude helped the industry to survive this tough period, and allowed the industry to remain strong heading into the late 70s and 80s, when a new invention led to booming sales. The introduction of the microwave oven for home use allowed consumers to prepare frozen foods in record time, and solved the dilemma of families who now had two working parents. Teamed with the microwave oven, frozen food’s new buzzword became “convenience,” and consumers were quick to respond. TV dinners were replaced by “frozen entrees” and upscale dinners, with more taste and variety, and the option to prepare in minutes using the microwave. The 1990s ushered in an era of “healthy” eating for Americans.

Frozen foods were quick to adapt to this new life-style of America, and brands like Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, and many others thrived. Consumers were hungry not only for taste, but for healthy ingredients, and regulations requiring full disclosure of ingredients made consumers more health conscious than ever before. Words like “lite,” “low-salt,” “low-fat,” and “low-cholesterol” were the new adjectives of choice on frozen meals. The Future What does the future hold for frozen foods? It’s impossible to predict. Clarence Birdseye may have shook his head in disbelief if someone had suggested in his day that the future would hold frozen dinners that could be prepared in minutes, frozen foods targeted specifically to children, frozen ethnic foods of every variety and frozen food choices for every meal occasion in the day. But, thanks to the tenacity and innovation of the frozen food industry, all these dreams are reality today, and our dreams of tomorrow could show up in your freezer much sooner than you think!

Source: National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association Clarence Birdseye Facts LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST Clarence Birdseye Facts There really was a Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956).If he hadn't visited the Arctic, there may never have been frozen TV dinners. Now he is recognized as amajor innovator in the food industry. As a young scientist working in the frozen North, it didn't surprise Birdseye to note that freshly caught fish, when placed on the Arctic ice and exposed to the wind, immediately froze solid. What did surprise Birds-eye was that the fish, if thawed and eaten much later, retained all of its fresh characteristics. This discovery was to create a new food industry and make Birdseye a millionaire. The youthful Birdseye had the courage to thaw out the rock hard fish weeks later and cook them for dinner, as an experiment. At the time, this was a real risk. He could have become very ill by eating "rotten" fish; but he didn't. Instead, the young naturalist found that the fish tasted almost the same as if they had been fresh, and with the same texture.

Clarence Birdseye was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 9, 1886. He attended Amherst College, with the intention of becoming a biologist. But he didn't graduate. Instead, he went to work for the U.S. Biological Survey as a field naturalist. His supervisors sent him to the Arctic to do research on the ways of the native Americans who lived there, and even to trade some furs. The combination of ice, wind, and low temperatures in the Arctic froze anything left exposed almost instantly. Birdseye soon realized that such quick freezing of certain foods kept large crystals from forming. Slow freezing attempts had resulted in the formation of large crystals, transforming the food so that it could never be eaten. But if the freezing was accomplished quickly enough, there was no damage to the cellular structure of the food. As a young scientist, Birdseye was making notes on his fascinating discovery. He also realized that he had the germ of a new business that could be very profitable. Throughout his life, Birdseye was a skilled businessman. He did more than create the modern frozen food industry.

He also obtained almost 300 patents for various inventions, many of them in the fields of incandescent lighting, wood pulping, and infrared heating. Birdseye Seafoods was Born Birdseye knew that he had discovered something very important, but he wasn't certain what. All he knew for sure was that he had the beginnings of what could be a very profitable business. A careful man, he continued to work in various federal departments from 1917 to 1925, while perfecting his freezing methods. All the time he knew that the public would clamor to pay for all the various types of foods they could enjoy if they didn't have to be obtained fresh. He knew that frozen foods would be in demand if he could figure out exactly how to accomplish the freezing. In September 1922, while still employed by the government, Birdseye returned to New York City and formed his own company, Birdseye Seafoods, Inc. The company was far from an immediate success, as Birdseye continued his experiments with fish filets. He would freeze them, then thaw them, at his plant headquarters near the Fulton Fish Market in New York.

He didn't have to eat every experiment because he already knew that the food would be safe to eat. He was trying to perfect a way to ensure the flavor and texture of the food. The Final Secret At last Birdseye discovered the secret to safely freezing food. After two years of experimentation, he tried wax-packing dressed fish and other foods in cartons then freezing them between two flat, refrigerated surfaces under pressure. The "double plate" freezer was the solution. This technique quickly froze the foods solid with almost no damage at all to their cellular structure. Foods packaged and frozen in this new way were almost exactly the same when thawed weeks or months later. Birdseye quickly applied for, and was granted, a patent on the exclusive method. Birdseye knew he had found the answer to safely preserving foods for an indefinite time, an answer that could make him a fortune. With this new technique safely patented, he decided to form another company. On July 3, 1924, he formed the General Seafood Corporation with some rich partners who believed in his process. General Seafood was the beginning of a food industry that has since become massive.

A look in the refrigerated section of any local grocery store will reveal a stunning variety of delicious frozen foods. There will be many types of fish, the food item that started it all, and dozens of meat and poultry foods as well as French fried potatoes, milkshakes, and complete breakfasts and dinners. There are even pizza combinations and other specialty frozen foods waiting for consumers. Recently, chain hamburger and hot dog companies began supplying their products in frozen form to supermarkets. This huge industry began with the discoveries of Clarence Birdseye. Birdseye was a hard worker who was always thinking of new ideas. Even as he was perfecting his freezing techniques, he was also working on other food items. In the late 1930s, he perfected and patented a new food dehydrating process. However, he was so busy with his frozen food ideas that he didn't begin marketing the dehydrating idea until 1946. Birdseye Built a Successful Company Company success didn't happen overnight. The first retail sale of frozen foods occurred on March 6, 1930, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Birdseye called it the "Springfield Experiment Test Market." In his frozen food cases he included 26 different types of fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables. He posted a number of rather questionable signs on the frozen food display with words like "50 Below Zero," but people bought the new items. They loved the idea that they could take home, thaw, and eat foods that were otherwise not available to them at a reasonable price. Premature thawing continued, however, to be a problem. Birdseye contacted the American Radiator Corporation. This company agreed to manufacture low-temperature retail display units that would hold the frozen food in markets. Markets agreed to display only Birds Eye products. In return, they were able to lease the units for about eight dollars per month. The new units would keep the foods solidly frozen until customers bought them. Always on the lookout for ways to expand his business, Birdseye began to lease insulated railroad cars in 1944. These cars were specially designed for the nationwide shipment of his frozen food products. This final move assured the success of Birdseye's company. By the 1950s, frozen food sales exceeded one billion dollars every year.

About 64 percent of all retail food markets had frozen food areas. Pre-cooked foods or prepared frozen foods began to account for a majority of the sales. There were even "boil-in" bags of frozen food items, derived from Birdseye's original experiments. The Association of Food and Drug Officials in the United States adopted a standard for the handling of frozen foods, to insure that foods were not allowed to thaw between manufacture and consumption. By then, most airlines were using frozen foods that could be prepared as needed on airliners. Birdseye's Company Today Today, Birds Eye, Inc. targets the growing wave of health-conscious consumers. They were the first to introduce "Custom Cuisine," a line of six varieties of vegetables and sauces to which meat is then added. They also introduced foil wrapping on boxed vegetables, which holds moisture ten times better than waxed paper. The Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged that frozen foods, when correctly handled and cooked, are as healthy as the same foods would be if cooked fresh. Birdseye had come to the same conclusion decades before. There are now children's frozen foods, "family size" portions, appetizers, meal kits, and snacks.

The fast-paced lifestyles of modern consumers have encouraged the continued growth of the frozen food industry. The process invented by Birdseye is still in widespread use. It preserves not only the flavor and texture of the foods, but also their nutritional value. Clarence Birdseye indirectly improved the health of almost everyone in the industrialized world by providing fresh food in a convenient way. Before his death in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1956, at the age of 70, Birdseye realized that his discovery on the cold tundra of the Arctic had grown into a highly successful business. Further Reading on Clarence Birdseye A Sudden Chill, Time Life Books, 1991. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Clarence Birdseye facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Clarence Birdseye COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. Clarence Birdseye There really was a Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956).If he hadn't visited the Arctic, there may never have been frozen TV dinners. Now he is recognized as amajor innovator in the food industry.

As a young scientist working in the frozen North, it didn't surprise Birdseye to note that freshly caught fish, when placed on the Arctic ice and exposed to the wind, immediately froze solid. What did surprise Birds-eye was that the fish, if thawed and eaten much later, retained all of its fresh characteristics. This discovery was to create a new food industry and make Birdseye a millionaire. The youthful Birdseye had the courage to thaw out the rock hard fish weeks later and cook them for dinner, as an experiment. At the time, this was a real risk. He could have become very ill by eating "rotten" fish; but he didn't. Instead, the young naturalist found that the fish tasted almost the same as if they had been fresh, and with the same texture. Clarence Birdseye was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 9, 1886. He attended Amherst College, with the intention of becoming a biologist. But he didn't graduate. Instead, he went to work for the U.S. Biological Survey as a field naturalist.

His supervisors sent him to the Arctic to do research on the ways of the native Americans who lived there, and even to trade some furs. The combination of ice, wind, and low temperatures in the Arctic froze anything left exposed almost instantly. Birdseye soon realized that such quick freezing of certain foods kept large crystals from forming. Slow freezing attempts had resulted in the formation of large crystals, transforming the food so that it could never be eaten. But if the freezing was accomplished quickly enough, there was no damage to the cellular structure of the food. As a young scientist, Birdseye was making notes on his fascinating discovery. He also realized that he had the germ of a new business that could be very profitable. Throughout his life, Birdseye was a skilled businessman. He did more than create the modern frozen food industry. He also obtained almost 300 patents for various inventions, many of them in the fields of incandescent lighting, wood pulping, and infrared heating. Birdseye Seafoods was Born Birdseye knew that he had discovered something very important, but he wasn't certain what. All he knew for sure was that he had the beginnings of what could be a very profitable business.

A careful man, he continued to work in various federal departments from 1917 to 1925, while perfecting his freezing methods. All the time he knew that the public would clamor to pay for all the various types of foods they could enjoy if they didn't have to be obtained fresh. He knew that frozen foods would be in demand if he could figure out exactly how to accomplish the freezing. In September 1922, while still employed by the government, Birdseye returned to New York City and formed his own company, Birdseye Seafoods, Inc. The company was far from an immediate success, as Birdseye continued his experiments with fish filets. He would freeze them, then thaw them, at his plant headquarters near the Fulton Fish Market in New York. He didn't have to eat every experiment because he already knew that the food would be safe to eat. He was trying to perfect a way to ensure the flavor and texture of the food. The Final Secret At last Birdseye discovered the secret to safely freezing food. After two years of experimentation, he tried wax-packing dressed fish and other foods in cartons then freezing them between two flat, refrigerated surfaces under pressure.

The "double plate" freezer was the solution. This technique quickly froze the foods solid with almost no damage at all to their cellular structure. Foods packaged and frozen in this new way were almost exactly the same when thawed weeks or months later. Birdseye quickly applied for, and was granted, a patent on the exclusive method. Birdseye knew he had found the answer to safely preserving foods for an indefinite time, an answer that could make him a fortune. With this new technique safely patented, he decided to form another company. On July 3, 1924, he formed the General Seafood Corporation with some rich partners who believed in his process. General Seafood was the beginning of a food industry that has since become massive. A look in the refrigerated section of any local grocery store will reveal a stunning variety of delicious frozen foods. There will be many types of fish, the food item that started it all, and dozens of meat and poultry foods as well as French fried potatoes, milkshakes, and complete breakfasts and dinners. There are even pizza combinations and other specialty frozen foods waiting for consumers. Recently, chain hamburger and hot dog companies began supplying their products in frozen form to supermarkets.

This huge industry began with the discoveries of Clarence Birdseye. Birdseye was a hard worker who was always thinking of new ideas. Even as he was perfecting his freezing techniques, he was also working on other food items. In the late 1930s, he perfected and patented a new food dehydrating process. However, he was so busy with his frozen food ideas that he didn't begin marketing the dehydrating idea until 1946. Birdseye Built a Successful Company Company success didn't happen overnight. The first retail sale of frozen foods occurred on March 6, 1930, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Birdseye called it the "Springfield Experiment Test Market." In his frozen food cases he included 26 different types of fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables. He posted a number of rather questionable signs on the frozen food display with words like "50 Below Zero," but people bought the new items. They loved the idea that they could take home, thaw, and eat foods that were otherwise not available to them at a reasonable price. Premature thawing continued, however, to be a problem. Birdseye contacted the American Radiator Corporation.

This company agreed to manufacture low-temperature retail display units that would hold the frozen food in markets. Markets agreed to display only Birds Eye products. In return, they were able to lease the units for about eight dollars per month. The new units would keep the foods solidly frozen until customers bought them. Always on the lookout for ways to expand his business, Birdseye began to lease insulated railroad cars in 1944. These cars were specially designed for the nationwide shipment of his frozen food products. This final move assured the success of Birdseye's company. By the 1950s, frozen food sales exceeded one billion dollars every year. About 64 percent of all retail food markets had frozen food areas. Pre-cooked foods or prepared frozen foods began to account for a majority of the sales. There were even "boil-in" bags of frozen food items, derived from Birdseye's original experiments. The Association of Food and Drug Officials in the United States adopted a standard for the handling of frozen foods, to insure that foods were not allowed to thaw between manufacture and consumption. By then, most airlines were using frozen foods that could be prepared as needed on airliners.

Birdseye's Company Today Today, Birds Eye, Inc. targets the growing wave of health-conscious consumers. They were the first to introduce "Custom Cuisine," a line of six varieties of vegetables and sauces to which meat is then added. They also introduced foil wrapping on boxed vegetables, which holds moisture ten times better than waxed paper. The Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged that frozen foods, when correctly handled and cooked, are as healthy as the same foods would be if cooked fresh. Birdseye had come to the same conclusion decades before. There are now children's frozen foods, "family size" portions, appetizers, meal kits, and snacks. The fast-paced lifestyles of modern consumers have encouraged the continued growth of the frozen food industry. The process invented by Birdseye is still in widespread use. It preserves not only the flavor and texture of the foods, but also their nutritional value. Clarence Birdseye indirectly improved the health of almost everyone in the industrialized world by providing fresh food in a convenient way.

Before his death in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1956, at the age of 70, Birdseye realized that his discovery on the cold tundra of the Arctic had grown into a highly successful business. Further Reading Encyclopedia of Food and Culture COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. BIRDSEYE, CLARENCE BIRDSEYE, CLARENCE. Clarence "Bob" Birdseye (1886–1956), American businessman and inventor, was originally an Amherst biology major, but dropped out and became a U.S. field naturalist in Labrador in 1920. There he became impressed with the well-preserved cellular structure of cooked fish that was frozen naturally in the Arctic outdoors. He noted that this quick freezing process caused less crystallization within the fish tissue. Once he returned to the United States , Birdseye developed his crude Multiplate Quick Freeze Machine: tightly sealed cartons, encased in metal, that were filled with food and then lowered into a low-temperature brine solution that froze the foods. Later, he froze foods with calcium chloride brine chilled to 40°F.

In 1924 he organized the General Seafood Corporation and turned his attention to developing refrigerated railroad boxcars to transport frozen foods nationwide. In 1929 Birdseye sold his company to Postum, Inc., which became General Foods Corporation. His line of frozen foods was renamed Birds Eye.™ Ultimately, in 1949, using the anhydrous freezing process, Birdseye managed to cut freezing time from 18 hours to 90 minutes. Though his process was not the first to freeze foods, distinction came to him for the quickness of his method for producing tasty, well-preserved fresh fish, fruits, and vegetables in retail-sized containers. The restaurant business profited greatly from his work. Birdseye held three hundred patents, in addition to a patent for a process of converting crushed sugarcane residue into paper pulp. See also Fish; Frozen Food; Peas; Preserving; Storage of Food; Vegetables. BIBLIOGRAPHY The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Clarence Birdseye, 1886–1956, American inventor and founder of the frozen food industry, b.

Brooklyn, N.Y., studied at Amherst College. From 1910 he worked as a naturalist, and in 1912 he went to Labrador on a fur-trading expedition. After he returned to the United States in 1916, he began experimenting with freezing foods, aiming at commercial application. He developed a method for freezing fish and in 1924 he was one of the founders of the General Seafood Company, which began manufacturing various fast-frozen food products. In 1929 the company was bought by the Postum Company (later the General Foods Corp.) for $22 million. By 1949, Birdseye had perfected the anhydrous freezing process, reducing the time needed for the operation from 18 hr to 11/2 hr. A prolific inventor, he held more than 200 patents. See biography by M. Kurlansky (2012). Cite this article North American Phenology Program Directions Clarence Birdseye Clarence “Bob” Birdseye was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 9, 1886.

He attended Amherst College for two years with the intention of becoming a biologist, but never graduated. Instead, he went to work for the U.S. Biological Survey in 1912 as a field naturalist and was sent to the Canada to conduct research culture of the Native Americans who lived there and traded animal furs. Birdseye returned to Labrador again in 1916 with his new wife and infant. While in Labrador, Birdseye began experimenting with freezing foods. In order to preserve vegetables imported to Labrador by ship, and information gathered on methods used by the Eskimos, Birdseye began experimenting with quick-freezing. Birdseye also used fish and caribou meat and discovered that with quick-freezing methods, it would not cause any damage to the cellular structure of the food as it does with slow freezing and that these foods would remain fresh-flavored. As a young scientist, Birdseye was making notes on his fascinating discovery and also realized that this could be highly profitable. Birdseye returned to the United States in 1917 to develop commercial techniques of rapidly freezing food. In 1923 he invested all of his savings into Birdseye Seafoods, marketing frozen fish.

In 1924 he along with three partners founded General Seafoods in Gloucester, Massachusetts, becoming the first company to use the method of rapid dry freezing of foods in compact, packageable units. The Postum Company bought Birdseye's business and 168 patents in 1929 for $22 million. The company renamed itself General Foods and marketed its frozen foods under the Birds Eye trademark. Clarence Birdseye continued as a consultant to General Foods after the sale and continued promoting the development of the frozen foods industry by lecturing and writing. Over the course of his life, Birdseye obtained and invented over 300 patents including ones for an infrared heat lamp, a whale-fishing harpoon, a method of dehydrating foods, and a spotlight for store window displays. When Birdseye died in New York City, he was recognized as the father of the frozen food industry and his name lives on in the Birds Eye brand of frozen vegetables. Throughout his life, Birdseye was a skilled businessman. He did more than create the modern frozen food industry.

He also obtained almost 300 patents for various inventions, many of them in the fields of incandescent lighting, wood pulping, and infrared heating. To learn more about Clarence Birdseye please visit: Wikipedia: Clarence Birdseye Birdseye, Clarence | Article about Birdseye, Clarence by The Free Dictionary Birdseye, Clarence | Article about Birdseye, Clarence by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Financial , Wikipedia . Clarence Frank Birdseye II Brooklyn, New York City, US Died Frozen food Birdseye, Clarence, 1886–1956, American inventor and founder of the frozen food industry, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., studied at Amherst College. From 1910 he worked as a naturalist, and in 1912 he went to Labrador on a fur-trading expedition. After he returned to the United States in 1916, he began experimenting with freezing foods, aiming at commercial application. He developed a method for freezing fish and in 1924 he was one of the founders of the General Seafood Company, which began manufacturing various fast-frozen food products.

In 1929 the company was bought by the Postum Company (later the General Foods Corp.) for $22 million. By 1949, Birdseye had perfected the anhydrous freezing process, reducing the time needed for the operation from 18 hr to 1 1-2 hr. A prolific inventor, he held more than 200 patents. Bibliography See biography by M. Kurlansky (2012). Birdseye, Clarence (“Bob”) (1886–1956) inventor, food processor; born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was interested in taxidermy as a child, and he took a cooking course in high school. After briefly attending Amherst College, he worked as a field naturalist for the Biological Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1910–12) before going to Labrador where he engaged in the fur trade (1912–17). Observing how well the natives preserved fish and other foods by freezing them, he experimented with the quick-freezing of foods in the harsh winters there.

Back in Gloucester, Mass., he perfected his quick-freezing and packaging process in the 1920s, but it would be the 1940s before the name Birds Eye became a household word through the frozen food firm that he established (in 1927), the General Foods Company. Clarence Frank Birdseye, II (1886 - 1956) - Genealogy Clarence Frank Birdseye, II in New York, NY, USA Immediate Family: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: "...COMPANY Phone 5746 Food Processor Dies NEW YORK IP Clarence Birdseye 69 inventor of a freeze food process that netted him a fortune d... Date: Circa 1887 - New York, United States Residence: 1920 - Westchester, New York, USA Wife: Newspaper Archive Text: "...of Clarence Birdseye 69 inventor of a quickfreeze process that netted him a fortune died in New York City He developed the process on... Date: Newspaper Archive Text: "...'Connell mortuary to Hillside Clarence Birdseye inventor of a quick-freeze food process that netted him a fortune died in New York la...

Date: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: ... a multimillion dollar business This week with the death of Clarence ... is getting mighty fine police performance including one of the t... Date: Newspaper Archive Text: "...is at the Boelter neral Home Clarence Birdseye Inventor Dies at 69 NEW VOMI Judge Harold King Dies Sunday in S D ABERDEEN S D Judge H... Date: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: "...in the The girls body is at Mason funeral home in Clarence Birdseye Dies NEW YORK Birds inventor of a quickfreeze food process that n... Date: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: "...and a persistence sufficient to make it boar fruit than Clarence Birdseye father of the frozen foods industry who recently died at ag... Date: Newspaper Archive Text: ... American success story was emphasized by the re- cent death of Clarence Birdseye a character whose life story if dona by Hollywood would... Date: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: ... American success story was emphasized by the recent death of Clarence Birdseye, a character whose life story, if done by Hollywood, woul... Date: NewspaperARCHIVE.com Text: "...improve the living standards of mankind.

Clarence Birdseye who died Sunday in New York at the age of developed a method of freezing p... Date: Oct 7 1956 - Gramercy Park Hotel Residence: Clarence Frank Birdseye II (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor who is considered the founder of the modern method of freezing food. In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Early work In 1910 and 1911, he captured several hundred small mammals and isolated several thousand ticks for research into the cause of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. His next field assignment, off and on from 1912 to 1915, was in Labrador, Canada, where he became further interested in food preservation by freezing, especially fast freezing. He was taught by the Inuit how to ice fish under very thick ice. In -40°C weather, he discovered that the fish he caught froze almost instantly, and when thawed, tasted fresh.

He recognized immediately that the frozen seafood sold in New York was of lower quality than the frozen fish of Labrador, and saw that applying this knowledge would be lucrative. His journals from this period, which record these observations, are held in the Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College. Conventional freezing methods of the time were commonly done at higher temperatures, and thus the freezing occurred much more slowly, giving ice crystals more time to grow. It is now known that fast freezing produces smaller ice crystals, which cause less damage to the tissue structure. When 'slow' frozen foods thaw, cellular fluids leak from the ice crystal-damaged tissue, giving the resulting food a mushy or dry consistency upon preparation. In 1922, Birdseye conducted fish-freezing experiments at the Clothel Refrigerating Company, then established his own company, Birdseye Seafoods Inc., to freeze fish fillets via chilled air at -45°F (-43°C). In 1924 his company went bankrupt due to lack of consumer interest in the product. That same year he developed an entirely new process for commercially viable quick-freezing: pack fish in cartons, then freeze the contents between two refrigerated surfaces under pressure.

Birdseye created a new company, General Seafood Corporation, to promote this method. Industrial development In 1925 his General Seafood Corporation moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts. There it employed Birdseye's newest invention, the double belt freezer, in which cold brine chilled a pair of stainless steel belts carrying packaged fish, freezing the fish quickly. His invention was subsequently issued as US Patent #1,773,079, marking the beginning of today's frozen foods industry. Birdseye then took out patents on machinery which cooled more quickly so that only small ice crystals can form and cell walls are not damaged. In 1927 he began to extend the process to quick-freezing of meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetables. In 1929, Birdseye sold his company and patents for $22 million to Goldman Sachs and the Postum Company, which eventually became General Foods Corporation, and which founded the Birds Eye Frozen Food Company. Birdseye continued to work with the company, developing frozen food technology. In 1930 the company began sales experiments in 18 retail stores around Springfield, Massachusetts, to test consumer acceptance of quick-frozen foods.

The initial product line featured 26 items, including 18 cuts of frozen meat, spinach and peas, a variety of fruits and berries, blue point oysters, and fish fillets. Consumer acceptance was strong, and today this experiment is considered the birth of retail frozen foods. The "Birds Eye" name remains a leading frozen-food brand. Death He died on October 7, 1956, of a heart attack at the Gramercy Park Hotel. He was 69 years old.[1] Clarence Birdseye --� Kids Encyclopedia | Children's Homework Help | Kids Online Dictionary | Britannica Clarence Birdseye. Courtesy of the Dean Foods Vegetable Company (18861956). American businessman and inventor Clarence Birdseye's development of a process for freezing foods in small packages suitable for retailing helped create the modern frozen food industry. Birdseye was born on December 9, 1886, in New York, New York. After working as a field naturalist for the U.S. government, he went to Labrador in Canada as a fur trader in 1912 and again in 1916.

While there he experimented with freezing foods to preserve them for later use. After returning to the United States, he perfected his freezing methods. He helped form General Seafoods Company in 1924. Five years later he began selling his quick-frozen foods, a successful line of products that made him wealthy. Birdseye's process consisted of rapid freezing of packaged food between two refrigerated metal plates. Though his were not the first frozen foods, Birdseye's freezing process was a highly efficient one that preserved the original taste of a variety of foods, including fish, fruits, and vegetables. In 1929 Birdseye's company was bought by Postum, Inc., which changed its own name to the General Foods Corporation, retaining Birdseye as a consultant. From 1930 to 1934 Birdseye was president of Birds Eye Frosted Foods and, from 1935 to 1938, of Birdseye Electric Company. Birdseye obtained some 300 patents for various inventions. Besides his frozen food process, he developed infrared heat lamps, a recoilless harpoon gun for taking whales, and a method of removing water from foods.

A few years before his death he perfected a method of converting bagasse (crushed sugarcane residue) into paper pulp. He died on October 7, 1956, in New York City. Page 1 of 1 "Birdseye, Clarence." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., , from While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Close Enable free complete viewings of premium articles from Britannica Online for Kids when linked from your website or blog-post. Now readers of your website, blog-post, or any other web content can enjoy full access to this article on Clarence Birdseye , or any other Britannica Online for Kids premium article for free, even if they do not have a membership. Just copy the HTML code fragment provided below to create the link and then paste it within your web content. For more details about this feature, visit our Webmaster and Blogger Tools page. . Copy and paste this code into your page

Question: Which American (1886-1956) founded the modern frozen food industry?
Answer: Clarence Birdseye